Quick thoughts, Lasting memories

Garden VI: The Thieves

2008-09-25T18:57:00.004-05:00

I remember walking out from the car and heading towards the garden. The August sun had made the day hot, and it had been a long day working at mosquito control. I wore my green dickies, a slightly worn white Hanes tagless t-shirt, and my wal-mart 14.99 hiking boots. It had to have been around 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon because I usually got off of work around 3:00. My hair and beard were pretty short then, but I still felt the heat. I had planned on making this trip to the garden a short one. I had one thing on my mind...corn.

In my last post I wrote about how I waited a long, long time to get my tomatoes to grow, ripen, and taste delicious. Well, I waited even longer for the sweet corn. Sweet corn seems to take forever to grow, but once it does, it's worth the wait. The last time I had come to the garden, I peeled back the husk on one of my ears of corn, and saw that the corn would be ready in just a few short days. The night before and all day during work I thought about how wonderful it would be to harvest my very own batch of corn. I thought about all those times I bought corn from roadside vendors and I took it home to husk, boil, douse in a copious amount of butter, and lightly salt it. I dreamt about each bite, and how occasionally the juice would squirt onto my hand or maybe onto my cheek. I smiled to myself when I thought about the corn getting stuck in my teeth, and how I would just chuckle knowing that this time it was MY corn getting wedged in between my chompers.

As I walked to the garden that day, a sight had caught my eye. My garden looked different. Something wasn't right. It looked out of place. My fence, made of posts, and twine, was still in place. My tomato plant was still dominating the back corner of the garden. My zucchini and butternut squash vines were still crawling all over the place. The seven foot tall sun flower was still soaking up all the sunshine rays. Only one thing was missing from this 20' X 20' plot.......my corn. My mind started racing...."what happened?" "How could this be?" " I was just here a few days ago! Everything was fine, the corn looked good." "How could everything have fallen over?" "How could get it trampled like this?" "I don't understand." "AAAAAH, if it was Mario, I am going to be so mad. They warned me about him, coming in and stealing people's vegetables. I'm calling the city of hopkins, and reporting that guy! Oh, I'm calling the mayor. He's got to be able to handle this." "AAAAH, POLICE, POLICE someone has taken my corn!!! My precious, precious corn!!!" Then like a lightening bolt direct from the cloudless sky, I remember some advice someone gave me just about a week earlier. "You better watch that corn, rookie, the raccoons like to steal it. They always seems to get it the night before you are going to pick it. It's like they monitor your corn better than you do." This statement was a direct hit. I looked at the ground and sure enough I could see those little foot prints in the dirt.

In the end, all of my corn had been taken by the raccoons. Sure there were a few empty cobs laying on the ground, and maybe there was still one ear on the broken stalks, but it wasn't edible. By this time, the ear was insect covered, and they were getting a good meal out of it. All of gardening was an experience. I learned a lot that summer. The rest of the time, in my garden, I sprayed it with a homemade animal repellent. The repellent worked, but it was far too late to save my long awaited batch of corn.

Garden V: The Vine

2007-04-19T21:40:00.000-05:00

Receiving my first fruits was awesome! I loved eating the vegetables I had grown. Although Tomatoes were a whole different story, it seems like they take forever. I waited and waited for them to finally turn red, and when one turns red they all turn red. It was pretty incredible.
My tomato journey started in the front of a Menards store. I was already late in the season and I was a little worried that I wasn't going to be able to buy the Tomato cages that were my sole purpose for traveling to Mernards. As I stepped into the store every fear melted away as I was bombarded with a storm of Tomato cage choices. Of course, being the thrifty boy that I am, I purchased THE cheapest ones I could find. I do believe they were 95 cents a piece. I think I bought four or five. That day I was a happy little gardener as I traveled to my plot.
When I returned to my plot I was greeted by Howard as he looked over my purchase. I excitedly said "I got these babies for 95 cents a piece." Thinking Howard would be quite pleased with my frugality. He instantly responded with "What you got there is 95 cents worth of crap, those things aren't going to last at all! What you need is good old rusty ones. Those are the ones that are going to last." This took me a bit by surprise because in my own little naive way, I thought "Mernards could never sell me faulty equipment! I trust Mernards!" Naturally I was way off and Howard was right on the money. Why wouldn't he be? He was, after all, a true gardener. I was just the rookie. Never the less, I had to use the cages, I bought them!

As the tomato plants grew I realized how over bearing they can be. The vines go where they please, and I had to keep a strict eye on them. They would bring each other down to support themselves, and they would go in places where tomatoes would never grow. The cages crumbled from the weight of the plants, and after a while I realized that Tomatoes needed much more attention then I was giving them. Eventually green little balls started forming on the branches and I was pumped! I could not wait to taste my first "homegrown" tomato. After the tomatoes grew more, it seemed that I waited forever for them to turn red. Day after day, I would come to the garden to see a red tomato, but instead it would be a big green one or maybe a hint of light yellow, but not red. Then the day came when the tomatoes were finally ready to come home and become my dinner. That was a glorious day. Of course a bunch of them turned red at the same time, and I barely could keep up with them. I ended up giving away most of my tomato stock. After the tomatoes started to turn red, the plants required more attention because I needed to get rid of the plants that weren't bearing good tomatoes and focus on the ones that were. Any that weren't didn't make the cut....wait they did make the "cut" actually. I cut away the bad branches and kept the good. This act of pruning was a glaring reminder of chapter 15 in the gospel of John. Jesus speaks of God being the gardener and how he puts so much focus onto the plant and makes sure that it is bearing good fruit. It most definitely brought me to a deeper understanding of the gardener analogy. Any pruning I was doing as the gardener was for the benefit of the plant. I knew that if I pruned away the branches that weren't bearing fruit, the bearing fruit branches would do all the better.

Towards the end of the garden, the tomato plants became too much for me. I eventually let them do whatever they wanted and would just pick the tomatoes that happened to turn out. I ran out of patience and focused on some of the other plants. I am so glad that God doesn't run out of patience for us, and keeps working with us to see us bear the best fruit.

"I am the vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." -Jesus

Garden IV : First Fruits

2007-02-24T00:55:00.000-06:00

After the devestation of the flood, I wasn't sure if I was ever going to receive vegetables from my community garden plot. Then it happened, on a beautiful day sometime in June, I was given the gift of my first vegetables. At this point I wish I wasn't writing this down, but actually sitting with whoever decides to read this. I wish we were sitting in my living room and you could see the twinkle in my eye, and the excitement that seeps through my pores when I talk about the day of first fruits! It was glorious.

Everyone in the garden loved it when they got their first vegetables because it meant that they did something right. That all the hauling of water, churning of dirt, planting seeds, and picking weeds had paid off. This was a time of celebration. Leigh, Howard, and Dave all called me over to their gardens and showed me the first vegetables coming in. I remember Dave pulled me aside and like a proud parent showed me his eggplant. You see, this was the first summer he attempted eggplant and it was paying off! Leigh showed me all of her green beans, and broccoli. Howard showed me this crazy hybrid tomato that he claimed he had created. He said, and I quote, "Dave all I did was set the two plants next to each other, gave them a beer, and turned out the lights. The next morning I had 'Star Kiss' ". He deemed the tomato "star kiss" because supposedly each tomato had a star at the bottom of it. Howard was the romantic. My first vegetables were one green pepper (which by the way I only got one green pepper out of the summer, but it was tasty.), and a couple of onions. Great, Great, Great!! ( this is me trying to show the excitement)

It was really nice to see everyone's starting vegetables and seeing the proud "parents", but I haven't told you the best part about the first fruits. It was the sharing!!! Everyone wanted everyone else to try their vegetables. One afternoon Dave came over to my garden, shirtless as usually, and he had in his hand a freshly picked jalapeno, and a huge cherry tomato. He had me eat the cherry tomato right there in front of him, so I could say how good it was. Let me tell you it was good. (Blair, if you are reading this I think you were there for this one, and I'm pretty sure you had a bite of that tasty cherry tomato). That was one of my favorite memories, beause it made me realize the gifts that God has given us, and how we can take delight in the sharing of them. I also took the jalapeno home, and it immediately went into some chip dip that my other roommate Kyle was making. (more sharing!) As you can see in the picture above, those three vegetables were my first prize. That green pepper lasted all of 5 minutes after coming home. Blair quick snapped a couple of photos, and then he and I split it. Crisp and Delicious.

Those couple of days I learned what it meant to share within a community. Honestly this summer in the garden was really about the people in the garden teaching me what community was like. I was to learn many more lessons about community and life in the garden. After all, these were just the first fruits....

Garden III: The Flood

2007-01-20T16:55:00.000-06:00

As I laid to down to fall asleep I couldn't help but hear the heavy rain pour down on our apartment parking lot. Three thoughts started forming much like the needed rain clouds. "Yes! I may not have to work tomorrow." : you see, during this past summer I worked for mosquito control. When it rained we didn't have to work. "Yes! I don't have to water the garden tomorrow." and "NO! what if there is too much water and it ruins my newly planted vegetables." I had just planted new cucumbers, onions (not big onions, just the little green onions that you put in salads and on top of chinese food), and radishes.

The next day, the rain had stopped and I ended up having to work. Every swamp I trudged through that day had significantly increased in size because of the large rain fall. The whole time my thoughts kept drifting to my garden and what my new vegetables must have looked like.

As I arrived to the garden, my eyes were not prepared for the horror that they saw (So maybe that last line is a bit over dramatic, but bear with me I'm trying to build up some serious mental pictures). In all seriousness I did not expect to see as much damage that day. I had luck on my side when I choose my garden. My garden laid in the middle of the garden plots, close to the creek but not too close. The large amount of rain created a small flood in the garden plots of Hopkins, and killed many newly planted vegetables. As I looked from one side of the garden plots to the other, I saw faces of distraught people trying to rebuild what they worked so hard for. Some of these people used the vegetables for their lively hood. Selling them at the farmer's market and feeding their families. Almost everyone that had garden plots close to the creek had to restart and replant. I happened to be lucky because the flood water had made a path to the creek that only took out one corner of my garden. I only had to replant some of my vegetables.

I left the garden completely distraught that day. I also left with two thoughts, one completely insigificant and one significant. I insigificantly realized that I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to gardening. I also realized how horrible it must have been to ever lose a family member, house, car or anything because of a flood. Trying to deal with loss and trying to think of things to prevent a situation that may not have been preventable. The small flood at my garden helped me realize how horrible it must have been for the people that went through Hurricane Katrina and the horrors that followed. I know there is hope, but that day in the garden I struggled to find any.

"The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!' He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.'" Luke 8:24-25

Garden II: The People

2007-01-10T20:48:00.000-06:00

The first time I arrived at the garden, I carried seeds, a bucket, and a hoe. The sun shone brightly, the weahter hot, and my brain empty. I knew nothing about gardening. Although I had excitment in my naiveness because I knew that it would force me to talk to the people around me and ask for help. Throughout my summer I met many different people coming from all kinds of different areas of life, but I will focus on 3 main characters. I use the word "characters" for a reason. These people were some of the most genuine, giving, hospitable, and weird people I have ever met. Immediately they called me into their group and shared what they had, which wasn't much. I was always offered gardening tools, water, and weed ( I never accepted the weed, but there was plenty). They taught me so much about community. They were great. Throughout these "garden stories", I'll be mentioning these three people the most. Tonight I'll just share about the first time I ever met them.

Leigh: Leigh was 53, but she looked a little older than that. It was probably because she said she had smoked anything she could get her hands on since she was 29. She was a small woman that could not have weighed more the 90 pounds. Leigh's daughter dropped her off at the garden everyday and picked Leigh up after she was done with work. Various people brought her food throughout the day. Most of her days were spent sitting in the shade and talking with whoever passed by. Towards the end of the summer I planned for extra time to sit in the shade with Leigh and listen to what she was fired up about that day. She was pretty fiesty. She kind of reminded me of a woman that would be on the show "cops", smoking a cigarette and yelling at her husband.
The first time I met Leigh she was sitting at the edge of someone's garden talking their ear off. As I was watering and weeding, I knew I was next. Not more than 5 minutes later Leigh and I were shooting the breeze. I found that she was a unhealthy diabetic and that she didn't have much strength. She asked if I could water her garden in exchange for some homemade jelly. Let me tell you, it was worth the trade.

Dave: Even as I type, I can't help but laugh when I think of Dave. He was probably in his thirties. Dave was always shirtless, actually in the car today I tried to remember if I ever saw him with his shirt on, I don't think so. He wore black jeans with a big budweiser belt buckle that had the clidesdale horses pulling a wagon. He toted sunglasses, and a set of those radio headphones. His garden was immaculate. No weed could survive on his land. The only time he stopped working was to take a break in the shady spot of the garden plots. Everyone would sit in a circle, pass around a pipe, and get back to work. I will always remember the first time I met Dave because as I walked passed his garden, he kind of half-yelled something to me ( which I never did understand, but it seemed that he was happy to meet me and glad that I was there), laughed really hard, and went back to work.

Howard: Howard, Howard, Howard. I could write pages upon pages about Howard. I think I could write a mini-book , which I think this post is turning into, entitled "A summer getting to know Howard". Howard was a skinny man and also in his thirties. Howard always had a sleeveless shirt, cut-off jeans, and a fanny pack (bum bag for my friends in Australia). I could never tell if Howard was sober or drunk. I think most of the time he was pretty liquered up. He always told me that everyone in the garden was on a "ship filled with bumbling idiots.....and fools". He would say "Dave....that's your name right? I KNEW it was Dave! All of us here are on a ship filled with bumbling idiots and fools. I'm not the captain, I'm just along for the ride." I could tell Howard was indeed the captain. People in the garden listened to Howard. I was lucky I got in good with him, because he introduced me to everyone else. I would have never met Leigh and Dave if it wasn't for Howard. I couldn't always piece together everything he was talking about but I tried. He was my favourite. Instantly I knew he could take a joke and I only had to be half serious with him. Howard was the first person I met as I stepped into the garden. I quickly found out that my 20' by 20' plot of land had not been tilled and that my little hoe was not going to cut it. Howard had a gas powered tiller and offered to till my plot....for a price. Right away we started negotiating. He wanted a case of beer to till my plot. I said "a case of beer sounds a little steep don't you think." He quickly responded with "I drink cheap beer". I said "How cheap?". Howard answered with "12 bucks". I offered him 10 dollars. A half hour later my garden was tilled and I could tell the soil was rich. I left the garden that day knowing I was the newest crew member of the "ship filled with bumbling idiots and fools". I couldn't have been happier.

Garden I : The Basics

2007-01-04T21:46:00.000-06:00

As I start these "garden blogs" I figured I should start with the basics.

For a couple of years I had this idea floating around in the back of my mind. I wanted to start a garden to grow organic vegetables. I loved the idea of working the ground and actually producing food to eat. Especially vegetables! I am always racking my brain to find new ways to get more involved with the community and I found that almost every city has a community garden that you can be part of. Instantly I was drawn to the idea. The two things I was searching for, community and gardening, could be found in one place. Is this heaven? No, It's Hopkins, MN.

It didn't take long for me to find a place in the community garden. All it took was 10 dollars and a trip to city hall. I started speaking with the secretary about the land, how many plots I should get, and how to get water to my garden plot. The conversation went something like this.

Me: How many plots do you think I should get?

Secretary: Well do you have a family, how many mouths are you feeding?

Me: Just me.

Secretary: A bachelor eh? I would say one is plenty, especially since this is your first time. Your going to have cucumbers coming out of your ears.

Me: AWESOME! I'll take one. What about water?

Secretary: There is a small creek that runs along the garden plots. You'll have to bring buckets to haul water.

Me thinking: "Lady, you just made my day. I completely enjoy the idea of hauling my own water."

15 minutes later I was the proud owner of a 20' by 20' plot of land, located 7 blocks south of the Hopkins movie thearte.

Since my garden plot wasn't going to be ready for a couple of weeks I had plenty of time to prepare. Of course I wasted all of that time, and a week after my garden was ready I made a trip to Menards to buy seeds. As I walked through the doors at Menards, I realized I should have done some research about what kind of vegetables I should be buying. There are so many different kinds.

I bought: Radishes, GREEN PEPPERS!!, cucumbers, butternut squash, sweet corn, onions, lettuce, eggplant, competition size pumpkin seeds, broccoli, tomatoes, and zucchini.

I was in way over my head.......

The Garden Series

2007-01-02T22:04:00.000-06:00

Recently I've been wanting to blog about something, but I wasn't sure what. I didn't just want to blog aimlessly about random thoughts. I've done that before, and enjoy it, but I wanted to start blogging with something in mind.

Today it hit me. I had just finished showering and I started to think about blogging, and BOOM I thought, "I should blog about all my garden stories from this summer." Most of the people that read this blog have probably heard all of these stories about the garden, but I wanted to be able to use the blog to reflect and report all the things that went on this summer. I think it will be a good time. It'll be a great time for me, because it will help me focus on what I learned this summer. Hopefully it will be fun for any readers as well.

I think I will call it the "True confessions from a Hopkins Garden" at least for now. More to come.

BIG NEWS!!!

2006-12-30T00:14:00.000-06:00

I have some big news for all you baby fans.......

1. Matt and Chloe had their baby. I'm an UNCLE!! Now I can be the crazy uncle that I've always wanted to be!!

2. I hear J.LO is pregnant. Spread the word.

The ever coming cold

2006-12-02T12:49:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting in the living room of the new house I'm living in, and watching mickey mouse. I don't think a lazier Saturday could ever take place. It's been long over due!

Lately I've been listening to music like crazy. Well more like getting music like crazy, and wishing I had time to listen to it. Most recently I've been listening to Brand New "The devil and God are Raging inside me", Damien Rice "9", everything by Counting Crows, and Sufjan Stevens "Songs for Christmas." October and November were such great months for music.

I'm reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry, and Hebrews (in the Bible).

Sunday night we are going to see Body Worlds at the science museum. I think it's going to be pretty good, but crazy at the same time. I've actually never ever seen a dead body.

By the way, winter has come to Minnesota. It is stinking cold outside.

P.S. We are still waiting for Matt and Chloe's baby. I think it's coming soon!!!

A year comes to a close

2006-10-26T22:14:00.000-05:00

Tonight is officially my last night in my apartment. I guess I'm not too sad to leave, but I do have some good memories. I've been trying to get all of my gear out of here so we can start the cleaning process. I can't believe I have aquired this much stuff since I moved in! How many books can a guy own?! I'm starting to think I don't need 50+ t-shirts. Well I'm off to bed, but first here are some memories....

Top ten memories

1. We have had 8 people cycle through this apartment.
2. Two bedroom apartment = two big living rooms and one small bedroom to sleep 5 guys
3. Late night runs to Applebee's
4. Waking someone up that is on our couch and having to ask them if they actually know anyone that lives in the apartment. (they usually did)
5. Almost setting the kitchen on fire about 100 times
6. Having big sleep overs in our living room
7. Catching squirrels on our balcony
8. Having 39 people come to our Super Bowl Party
9. Having people over to watch Survivor
10. Never knowing what to expect when you come home = priceless, sometimes

A note from the Desk of Dave Hilden Mutual Funds Operations

2006-10-20T14:54:00.000-05:00

Well I have been in training all week from 12-4. Let's just say it's not that fast paced. I'm actually in the training right now, but I finished with my test early....that's right we actually have tests.

I purchased a new sweater, that I am currently wearing. It may have been a bad choice. Even though it's cold in Minnesota, the 510 Marquette building is not.

I'm looking foward to riding the bus home today, because it is my time to relax and collect my thoughts. Maybe I'll listen to some Cat Stevens, Damien Rice, or even Brand New if I'm feeling like it......

So Long Sweet Summer

2006-10-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Well I have some good news and bad news. Which one do you want first? The bad? yeah me too. I always seem to want to know the bad news first because if it was the other way around the whole time I'm hearing the good news I'm thinking "I wonder how bad the bad news is?" ANYWAYS

Bad News: It snowed today in Minnesota. Sooo dissapointing. It's nice to see snow, BUT on October 11th. See ya Fall!

Good News: I'm getting more used to my job. I have been really enjoying riding the bus. I have already met one guy that sometimes rides my bus. I also like the people I work with. The work isn't too bad. I'm usually done with my daily activities by 3:30 and I leave work at 4:30 so it isn't too stressful. I'm still getting used to getting dressed every morning.....wait I mean wearing dress clothes every day.

What?! Power made perfect through weakness???

2006-10-06T23:24:00.000-05:00

I've started my downtown job. Man alive what a change. Spending 8 hours, working in a cubicle where I can't see a window, is a big change from working thigh deep in water at mosquito control.

This week I have learned a lot of the buisness world that I have never known. It has forced me into a place far beyond my comfort level. It is a huge change but I am learning. I love taking the bus everyday, and I really like working downtown. I'm sure I'll get used to the office work as well. I certainly have found out what "Networking Mutual Funds" actually is, and I'm slowing learning how to network them. My job basically entails handling people's requests to change things in there mutual fund accounts and I make sure that they are allowed to make changes, and that we are allowed to make the changes for them.

I have really had this verse on my heart all week. I have to remember that God knows what's best and always will

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is Saturday....glorious Saturday.

OOOH yeah, while I was in California I got to meet Uncle Leo (Len Lesser) from Seinfeld. He was also in Everybody Loves Raymond. He does this thing where he pumps his arms in the air, it's great. So I asked him if we could pump our arms together for a picture. The picture is on the right! And check out Justin and Autumn's blog ( link that says Slug Blog) they posted a fantastic video of our one and half hour trip to vegas, don't worry the video is only about one and half minutes)

2 dollars and 2 hours in Vegas

2006-09-30T19:31:00.000-05:00

Last night around eight, four of us started out on a journey I will never forget. Justin, Autumn, Ashley, and I decided that we needed to make a drive straight for Vegas. Las Vegas is about 4 hours away from Justin and Autumn. After we got through traffic it ended up being about a 6 hour drive. We parked in the parking lot of the Bellagio and headed for a trip out on the strip. We really only had two and half hours in Vegas because Justin needed to be at work by nine this morning. Justin said it well when he said "Hurry up, and enjoy Vegas! Vegas Baby!!" I spent one dollar in the Bellagio, and one dollar in the Paris casino. We safely arrived back at Justin and Autumns apartment around eight this morning. On the way home we saw the sun rise over the Nevada desert. It still feels like a dream.....

Wardrobes and Tiki Bars

2006-09-29T03:02:00.000-05:00

Today was yet another great day here in L.A./Pasadena/Glendale. I went to work with Autumn and hung out....and then it hit me! "I could go clothes shopping for my new job so I don't have to when I get back." SO I ended up buying a bunch of dress clothes for work.

Later on this evening. Justin came home from work and their friend Ashley came over. A good time was had by all. We ate tacos for dinner and then we went to this Tiki bar/restaurant that was amazing. The whole restaurant is supposed to look like a sunken ship, so they put fish tanks all over the restaurant. It's great because any drink you order, alcoholic or not, you can get it on fire. Tonight I drank something called a "sharks tooth" and they handed it to me aflame. After the Bahooka's (the tiki place) we played a great game of Disney Scene-It in which the boys came out victorious. (the picture on the right is from the restaurant)

P.S. I just realized I have been spelling restaurant wrong my entire life. WOW

This is where the magic happens....

2006-09-28T00:28:00.000-05:00

Today I fulfilled one of my "make-a-wish" wishes. Today I worked with my cousin Justin on a stop-motion animation film that the company he works for is working on. (Bix Pix). I will actually be able to watch the movie and say "Hey there's something that I helped on" so I'm pretty pumped about that. I guess the movie will be showing on T.V. around Christmas time. I guess tomorrow I will probably hang out with Autumn in the town she works in. (Maybe go to In and Out burger for lunch!!!!!) There is this great 80's style arcade that I could hang out in as well. Everyday is an adventure......

P.S. mom and dad I've decided that I'm moving out here. Just kidding.

Aaardvark's and Poo-Bahs

2006-09-26T01:53:00.000-05:00

Today I walked to the thrift store I talked about yesterday, and a record store called Poo-Bahs. I ended up buying a sweeter than sweet Disneyland sweatshirt. They also had some pretty awesome vintage clothes, but unfortunately they knew the price tags they should have on vintage stuff like that. They spell Aardvark with an extra A. Isn't that peculiar?

The record store was also a good time. It was called Poo-Bahs. It reminded me of a punk record store taken right out of a 80's John Cusack movie.

Tiki Torches and Princesses

2006-09-25T03:20:00.000-05:00

Another grand day out in California! Today we went to disneyland all day. Seriously all day. It was awesome. We went on probably my all time favorite ride, pirates of the carribean. They actually added a few new robots to fit better with the recent movies. I think it was tried to be done in good taste, but it is hard to see a great old ride change with the times. The picture on the right was taken from the ride Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster. You can tell one thing from the picture. I need to focus way more on trying to get points and a lot less on talking. Justin is kicking my butt. Today was a great day.
I think tomorrow I'm going to walk to a cool record shop down the street as well as a huge thrift store called Aardvark. Just what I need, more T-shirts!

Plane rides and Palm Trees

2006-09-24T02:59:00.000-05:00

Well I have officially arrived in California! The air is nice and smoggy. Justin and Autumn are great! I think tomorrow we are going to try and go to Disneyland. BOO YAH.

"The Man" has snatched me up

2006-09-23T00:07:00.000-05:00

I was offered the job at Dain Rauscher! I'm quite excited to actually have a permanent job. The past year I have had to look/switch jobs at least every 3 months. So the prospect of having one for a while kind of excites me! I start the job October 3rd (the day after I get back from California)

OH YEAH! I'm leaving for California tomorrow and staying for a week! I'm sooo pumped. I'm visiting my cousin Justin and his wife Autumn. I went out there about a year ago and it was a complete blast.

Waterfalls and Escalators

2006-09-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

I had my interview today. It seemed to have gone pretty well. I think they liked me. I was definitely whisked away it world buzzing with activity. I interviewed at a company called RBC Dain Rauscher. They are located directly downtown in three different buildings. People were running around all over the place and they had waterfalls that ran along side the escalators. It was all quite over-the-top.

This evening some of us went to help an orginization called "Feed My Starving Children". They pack dehydrated food that is shipped all over the world. Tonights shipment was being shipped to Haiti. We were able to pack over 7,000 meals tonight. It was pretty cool.

Interviews are gateway drugs to jobs

2006-09-20T23:19:00.000-05:00

I have an interview tomorrow! Let's hope I win them over with my charm!

I thought selling out would feel different than this

2006-09-19T23:52:00.000-05:00

Since the ending of the perfect summer job (mosquito control), I started looking for yet another career path. I think the one that interested me the most was a campus recruiter for Cargill. It seems like it would be a fun job. It would pretty much entail trying to get people my age to work at cargill.

I have sort of felt that I am selling out and just trying to find a corporate job. Not that my friends that have corporate jobs have already sold out, but just for me it's something that I have been avoiding.

I'm yet again listening to mewithoutYou, and still reading irristable revolution. that book is a post waiting to happen.

Community is the cats meow

2006-09-18T23:59:00.000-05:00

My church has decided that in order to really experience life and community with each other, we need to start spending more time together. We are officially doing something we have started to call LTS (Life Together Sundays). LTS is going be an all day event every Sunday where people of the church can go and hang out with each.

I go to a very small house church (about 25 people) and church is at someone else's house every Sunday. Whoever's house it is at that particular Sunday will host LTS. LTS will be a time where we can spend Sunday doing our normal routine just with the people of the church. We will share meals together, do puzzles (I hope), clean together, read the paper, watch football, and ultimately share our lives with each other. I'm pretty pumped about how LTS is going to work!

a mind lost

2006-09-18T00:24:00.000-05:00

So I may or may not be losing my mind. Today I'm pretty sure I brushed my teeth quite a few times.
This morning I totally forgot to brush my teeth and then throughout the day I was trying to convince myself that I hadn't brushed my teeth yet, and so every time I went to the bathroom I brushed my teeth just make sure. I think it's OCD settling in quite nicely.

I can't believe I just posted about brushing my teeth. This posting every day is starting to get to me

Umm, I've been listening to Missy Higgins a lot.

PEACE

Played Frisbee Golf

2006-09-16T23:50:00.000-05:00

It was windy

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-09-15T23:27:00.000-05:00

Today:

1. Saw Little Miss Sunshine ( the movie was quite heart warming and hilarious)
2. Had my last day at mosquito control
3. Laid around during the afternoon
4. Listening to Damien Rice

Endless Summer Ending

2006-09-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

Well my stint at mosquito control is wrapping up. Tomorrow is my official last day. I had a good summer there. Here are the top 5 best things of the summer at mosquito control. (I could probably come up with a better list, but this is just off the top of my head)

5. Laughing with Pete while driving around
4. Drinking giant mountain dew 79 cent slurpees with Tyler
3. Falling in the river and my chest waiters completely filling with water. (that happened in june, my waiters are still wet)
2. Loading the Helicopter
1. Tomorrow Pete and I are going put armor-all on our seats so the next person to use our trucks will slip right off.

The mind being renewed

2006-09-13T21:58:00.000-05:00

I started reading the book irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Man oh Man I really enjoy that book. It seems that so many of his ideas are things that have been dreams of mine, but I thought they were too outrageous to actually accomplish. He speaks so much about community and our call as Christians to take care of everyone as if they were Jesus themselves.

Today I was at my garden and it was the first time I picture Leigh (the older lady that smokes a lot of pot) as if she was Jesus. Wow it made me want to do anything to make her feel good, take away her hunger, and really show her the love of God. It was awesome!

He also writes a lot about mother Teresa. I NEEEED to read some of her writings.

Here is a clip of what he writes

"I truly believe that when the poor meet the rich, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end."

"Few people are interested in a religion that has nothing to say to the world and offers them only life after death, when what people are really wondering is whether there is life before death."

"And the kingdom that Jesus speaks so much about is not just something we hope for after we die but is something we are to incarnate now"

I suppose that's enough for tonight

PEACE,
Dave

Time is so overrated

2006-09-12T21:42:00.000-05:00

So here's the deal. You know at the beginning of the month of september I set a goal to pray for an hour everyday. Lately I have felt a little convicted about it.

Last thursday, spurred this feeling of conviction. The time was 6:20pm and I shut myself in my room and was determined to pray for exactly one hour. I sat in my room like a child being banished after bad behavior. People were over at the apartment and I wanted to be hanging out with them. My heart was not in the prayer time at all. Of course that wasn't totally a wasted hour, but at the same time I realized prayer times are not to be times of counting the minutes on my clock. (By the way, I used my roommates clock, because it was a minute faster than the first clock I looked at. How pathetic is that?) I realized that my prayer time did not need to be about how long I spent with God, it was about the quality time I spent with Him and what my heart condition was.

some things to share

2006-09-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

today I....

1. ate all you can eat shrimp at Red Lobster (good stuff)

2. worked with my 69 year old partner "chemical Pete"

3. bought a t-shirt at savers

4. wasted my free time playing dicewars. Just type in dicewars on google.com. (get ready to be addicted

As if I didn't get enough books......

2006-09-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

soo feeling like 15 books (scratch that 16 Matt and Chloe bought me Walden) I felt that I NEEDED to get two more. So today I purchased V for Vendetta. It is a graphic novel (aka big long comic book) which the movie was based on. I really loved the movie, so I figured why not read the book. Which so far the comic looks pretty sweet. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the art but we will see. I also purchased irresistible revolution by Shane Clairborne. I think that one is about living the christian life in community (of course it would be about community of Christians! that's kind of my big thing.)

I've been listening a lot to mewithoutYou.(pictured to the right) I love that band. AND my new guilty pleasure The Goo Goo Dolls

(September 9th) Birthdays and Garage Sales

2006-09-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

So today we went and did some serious garage saling. I'm talking 8:00-2:30. It was a pretty big day. After the garage sales we came home, ate pizza, and now we are watching the Twins play some good baseball. The best deals of the day were all the books I purchased. here's a good list

A treasury of Short Stories: featuring Hemingway, and tolstoy
Adventures of Hukleberry Finn: Mark Twain
Burmese Days: George Orwell
The Lincoln Reader (just a bunch of stories/speeches by good old Abe
Treasury of American Folklore
The Laurel Poetry Series: Whitman
The House of the Seven Gables: Nathaniel Hawthorne
King Lear: Shakespeare
Selected Poems of Robert Frost
Abventures of Tom Sawyer: Mark Twain
Brave New World: Aldous Huxley
A Journey to the Center of the Earth: Jules Verne
Autobiography and Other Writings: Benjamin Franklin
Leatherbound Webster's Dictionary (1966)

that's enough tonight I'm pretty tuckered out

September 8th ( A celebration)

2006-09-08T22:58:00.000-05:00

Well tonight my immediate family got together and celebrated my brother's and I birthdays. Mine is tomorrow and his is the 15th. Tomorrow is the most excited day because we as a family are doing a bit of garage salin'. It's this huge garage sale that takes up most of the morning and a little in the afternoon. I might try and find a lamp with a clock in it. That is kind of the goal, AND some old cat stevens records, because that is what I'm listening to right now.

September 7th ( A Thursday)

2006-09-07T21:54:00.000-05:00

Not much to post today.

I did however work with loading the helicopter at mosquito control today.
Here's a tasty pic of me after we loaded it.

September 6th (A Wednesday)

2006-09-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

I guess I don't have anything ground breaking to share this evening. EXCEPT that I actually came home from work and stayed home. It was glorious. I think it was the first time in for sure a week possibly two.

Work wasn't too busy today. I didn't finish the crossword ( I like attempting it everyday). -Sidenote- I was amazed to find out that my grandfather has never done a crossword puzzle before! I think I might get him a crossword puzzle book for Christmas. - I also prayed during work. I think I'm going to try until the end of the week, but I just can't seem to focus long enough to actually have good communication with God.

I'm listening to Coheed and Cambria "The Light and the Glass" which is a freakin' sweet epic of a song.

I didn't read Why I am not a pacifist last night, but I have slated it for the agenda this evening.

September 5th ( A Tuesday)

2006-09-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

aaah Day 2 of blogging. Already I can feel my fingers getting excited about future blogs. My knuckles cracking with anticipation.

Let's see first I'll address my goal of praying every day. Today I prayed for an hour at work. I don't know if that counts, but I'm totally counting it. You see the college students have all left mosquito control and returned to there various educational institutions. With the college students being gone my crew is down to 4 people instead of 6. All this said I worked all by myself today. Working out in the middle of fields makes it easy to pray out loud.

Today was the first day that I arrived at my garden with a bucket. Not for watering, but to gather in my harvest. It was quite glorious. I picked 2 butternut squash, 3 large tomatoes (but later found one of them to be rotten), 3 grape tomatoes, and 1 smaller cucumber. This whole gardening is quite enjoyable. I'm still waiting on my over-the-top large pumpkin, but it has to come in sometime. I think I'm going to have to sleep over at my garden one night, just like they did in that Peanuts cartoon ( I can't remember the name of it.)

aaah yes. I also had accountability group with some guys from the church. It was a good time. We always meet at panera and the conversation always always ends up being very encouraging. It's an encouragement to talk to people that are trying to figure out how to be more and more like Jesus everyday. (not that I don't talk to people like that outside of accountability group....you get the drift)

I'm currently listening to Leeland. My roommate introduced them to me. I guess they kind of sound like a Christian happy Coldplay/Copeland/Sleeping at Last.

I'm about to read an essay by C.S. Lewis entitled "why I am not a pacifist" that should challenge my thinking I'm sure. I'll blog about it tomorrow.

I sure do have to get to my reading.......

Dave

The Memoirs of a September

2006-09-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

So here's the deal. I've decided my September is going to be one of audacious goals.

Here they are:

1. I'm going to blog everyday of the month of September (well I will blog for one month rather. Starting today and going until October 5th) Now Now some of you may remember when I attempted to blog every day for a week. (It didn't pan out, but I'm stronger and I have more will power now!! I hope.) This daily blogging will pretty much be filled with some basic things (what I did, what music was hot on dave's top 100 that day, what book I'm reading, maybe some garden updates, and how things are going at my church)

2. I don't pray nearly enough. Praying is such a huge part of the Christian faith, but it falls to the wayside so easily. So starting tomorrow I will be praying for an hour every day. This will be a good stretch for me, but a much needed one. You see, I've needed a time to block out sometime during my day. I think I'm going to do it from 3:15-4:15, but it might turn into a 9:00-10:00 kind of deal.

I'll keep you posted.

Oh yeah,
September 4th ( A Monday)
today I came back from my Aunt and Uncle's Cabin (which was a blast), and I went to a house church soiree.
I finished reading "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. That guy is a fantastic writer. The book made me think quite a bit about capital punishment.

Well It's bedtime. I'll write more tomorrow

PEACE,
Dave

If you want to be free, be free

2006-07-27T21:06:00.000-05:00

Lately, I have not been able to get enough of Cat Stevens. I just love his over-the-top optimism. SO I have decided to go on a Cat Stevens journey. I am going to buy all his cd's in the order in which they came out. I will treat him as if I am eagerly awaiting him to release his next one. Luckily I found the first cd for a dollar, so I just have to play the waiting game for it to get here in the mail. Any one who wants to hop on board the peace train with me can start buying his cd's. The first one is called "Matthew and Son". Some of you may be like "cat who?" well let me explain. Cat has given us such tunes as "Peace Train, the first cut is the deepest, here comes my baby, and Saturday Night". Unfortunately, he will not be putting out any more cd's under the name Cat Stevens. He went total Muslim on us, and quit his hippy singer/songwriter stuff. He changed his name to Yusuf Islam. Kind of went off the deep end.

Gardens Galore

2006-06-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

I've decided that actually trying to accomplish dreams is waaaayyy better than just thinking about them. One of my most recent dreams was to start and garden in the city of Hopkins, where I live, in the community garden plots that they have in the city. I wanted to be able to meet people in our community and learn how to do a skill that I have been dreaming about for a while. So far I enjoy it immensly. I have been able to meet people, and I'm slowly learning what it means to garden. Apparently watering plants is an essential part to the whole gardening experience. They don't have any city water in the park, but there is a little stream that flows next to all the gardens. I bought a 5 gallon bucket that works perfectly for hauling water. 20 gallons later my garden is watered. I have only planted a few things so far. I'm going to plant little amounts of everything and see how they turn out. I planted tomatos, cucumbers, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, onions, and sweet corn. I will keep every one "posted" HA! and hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures and post them!!

Hello My Name is Dave, and I am a nerd

2006-05-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

I just recently did the nerdiest thing I have ever done in my life. Wait, wait a little back story is needed.

I just started a new book called "Demons" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I've read a few of Dostoevsky books before and I really enjoy his ideas. This particular book by him is quite long. It's like 650 pages of character development and about 100 pages of story. I love his style of writing, and the way he describe the mind of men. He was a Russian author so all of his names are completely Russian with nick names for each character. Each character has two or three nicknames and if I was Russian I would immediately know which nick name is for each name. Since I am not Russian I have decided to take affirimtive action in remembering all these names and the parts they play in the novel. Here comes the nerdiest thing ever......

I went into our back room and took a poster off the wall. (My planet of the apes poster. [tim burton's version]). With the white backside of the poster showing, I carefully mapped out all the characters, their personalities, the part they play, and who they are connected with. I started with the main character and drew line away from his name and to other characters. I even wrote everything in pencil so I can change the map if I need to, AND I even hung the poster up on the wall again. That is the nerdiest thing I have ever done. Well, I need to go add some names to the poster. I did a bunch of reading this weekend....

10 Gallon Gang Wars

2006-05-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

I have heard the cries and I promise I will try and update more! So here's a quick story before I head to bed!

The picture on the right are the kind of fish that I have finally put in my fish tank. (The fish tank I talked about setting up a couple of posts ago). I bought 8 fish. 4 are striped liked the ones in the pictures and 4 that are the same type, but just a different color. I call the striped ones the "sharks" and the solid colored ones the "jets". (The two gangs from Westside Story). I first put the "sharks" in the tank probably about a month ago, and just last week I introduced the "jets" into the tank. They all looked like they were getting along just fine. So I gladly fed them, smiled, a small fatherly smile, and turned the lights off. I went to bed a happy man. It seemed as if the "Sharks" and the "Jets" were going to get along just fine. Boy was I wrong. I woke up the next morning to a herendous sight. One of the "jets", we will call him Billy, was stuck to the filter and barely breathing. Right away I knew exactly what had happened. The "Sharks" were showing who was the real boss in that 10 gallon tank, and they decided they would just kill off one of the "jets" in the first night. Actually now that I think about it, they might have killed him during the day when I was at work. Well whatever time of the day it was, the killing was brutal. Who would have thought that these two gangs would really just take each other out. I just thought I was giving them playful names. This afternoon I took Billy to the pet store and returned his dead fish body for a much more lively (Bigger) fish. I decided that I would bring a ringer into the gang wars. So as of now I think the "jets" will dominate the tank for a little while, but who knows. All I know is that there are plenty of fish in the sea........ and plenty of battles to be fought. I will keep you posted.

HEY KID GO FLY A KITE

2006-04-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today I flew a kite for the first time. It was quite glorious. At least it was the first time I can recall that I actually flew a kite successfully. For my graduation, last May, a friend of mine gave me a kite, and today I decided to break it out. So this morning I threw the kite in the back of my mosquito control truck and flew it during my lunch break. The kite is shaped like a giant goldfish and it's tail flapped in the wind. I love the sound a kite makes. The wind rushing right into it like a sail on a giant sailing ship. Well, that's all for today.

Pacifism is Tough When Your Job is To Kill Mosquitos

2006-04-08T23:42:00.000-05:00

As you can tell my attempt to post daily pretty much fell through. My brother and I went into Chicago and had a really good time, and last saturday we went to a coin-operated machine show with my dad. We got some pretty fun free pinball to play at the show! I also bought some cool fish for my fish-tank so sometime I'll have to post a picture of them up the old blog.

This week was my first week back at Mosquito control again. I think it's going to be a fun summer working there. Sometimes it kind of feels like a summer camp without the campers, big meals, cabins, waterfront, horses, and fires. So I guess it only feels like summer camp because we have foremen that are in charge of 5 to 6 people, and the foremen kind of feel like camp counselors. The only thing I really don't like about the job is having to get up at 5:43am every morning, BUT I do get done with work at 3:00 so that is pretty sweet.

I'm off to bed soon. I'm going to enjoy sleeping in tomorrow!!!
BOO YEEEEEAAAAAAH

"Money Eating Creature from the Hotel Lagoon"

2006-03-30T23:12:00.000-06:00

So we made it to St. Charles (just outside of Chicago). It wasn't a bad drive down at all. The weather is super nice, and the hotel comfortable. There is a Creature from the Black Lagoon pinball machine in the hotel arcade, and it managed to eat a couple of dollars from both my brother and I. That pinball machine kick our butts. We both had at least one good game, but we could have done so much better!! Well the pinball machine was the direct result for me to do something nice for someone today. Matt and I left an extra free game on the machine for this kid that was just kind of hanging around the arcade, but not actually playing the games. He kind of approached the pinball machine very carefully. It kind of looked like he had never played a game of pinball in his life. It probably would have been fun to see how he did, but we didn't stick around. Tomorrow I think my goal will be to find something fun to do around town, and swim in the pool!!!

PEACE

Soup

2006-03-29T22:35:00.001-06:00

Well my one goal today was to make soup. It actually happened! I thought the soup tasted good and it didn't take too long at all. It was good 'ol minnesota wild rice soup. I also did a trial run for a podcast. I liked playing around with garage band some, but now I need to figure out how to post my podcast so other people can download. I'll keep you posted on that one

My parents had to put my dog to sleep today. It was a pretty sad. We had sadie for quite a while, and she was a really good dog. It is never fun to see an animal go.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Chicago. So all my blogs will take place from the Windy City (actually just outside the Windy City).

PEACE

My goal for tomorrow is "do something nice for someone". Any readers can feel free to do the same, and then tomorrow post what you did!!!

Project Fish Tank: ACCOMPLISHED

2006-03-29T01:15:00.000-06:00

So one of my goals that I set for myself was to set-up my fish tank this week. BOO YEAH! I did it! My good friend Joel helped me set it all up. It was pretty fun. We made a trip to Petsmart, which I hadn't done in a long time, and I found a tank stand and some old school looking ruins of some kind. The ruins kind of give the take a nice theme. My next purchase for the tank is to find an old pirate looking skull.

A friend of mine is going to make a sweet satchel for my new computer. So today we went shopping for some fabric. We found some pretty sweet stuff which I am pumped about. It's kind of going to be kind of an earthy green. I may need to post a picture of it when she is done making it.

Let's see plans for tomorrow.............I think I'm going to try and make a big batch of some Wild Rice soup. Chloe (sister-in-law) gave me a pretty recipe so I'm going to try it. I know, I know all of you are thinking "Dave, how in the world are you going to accomplish that goal??? You only have all day to make one batch of soup???" I know I may be stretching myself pretty thin tomorrow by having so many huge plans, BUT I'm going to try really hard to complete my goal. I'll keep you posted!!

Goodbye Good Friend

2006-03-27T23:37:00.000-06:00

So I've decided I'm going to try and update my blog daily because I'm not working this week.

Today I dropped one of my good friends Caleb off at the airport. He and Amanda (his wife) moved to Australia just a little while ago and he was in town getting his visa so he could live there permanently. It was sad to see him go, but I know that they'll be happy in Australia with their own place, and living closer to his wife's family. We'll miss them here in the states.

Other than my trip to the airport, my day has been quite uneventful. It was one of my roommates birthdays today so we all went to Applebees this evening, it was a pretty good time!

I think tomorrow I'm going to set-up my fish tank. That'll be one for the books....

White whales and Flying Peaches

2006-03-25T15:56:00.000-06:00

Well Well Well I figured I'm due for my once a month blog........

I just recently purchased a new computer and we finally got the internet at our apartment. So hopefully I'll be posting more these days.

There has been a few changes, I just quit the warehouse I was working at and my old mosquito killing job starts in about a week. I'm pretty pumped about being outside all summer again. If the weather is going to be nice I might as well be outside for it.

Let's see I haven't blogged for a while, I kind of feel like I'm grasping for words here........ I'll share some things that I have experience in the culture lately.

1. I just saw Hamlet at the Guthrie. It was a pretty fun time. We had a whole crew go. Matt and Chloe, Jenni ( a girl from their church), my parents, and Chloe's mom. Afterwards Matt, Chloe, Jenni, and I went to Perkins and we all shared French Toast, French Fries, and Matt and I shared a Caramel Malt. It was quite the fun night!
2. I just saw the movie V for Vendetta. I really enjoyed it. Visually I thought it was pretty sweet and the story was captivating.
3. I also just finished reading a couple of books. Moby Dick, the book was really, really good. Long, but good. I really liked Herman Mellville's style. I'll probably have to try and read a couple more of his books. I also finished the Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. Of course C.S. Lewis once again showed me why is my favorite author of all time. The book was so challenging and enjoying. This morning I finished reading James and the Giant Peach. I thought that it was a fun story. I pretty much read it because someone gave it to me and I wanted to see the stop-motion animation version of it, but I wanted to read it first.

My new ambition is to try and record a podcast. I'm not sure how it totally works, but I'm dying to try it. So hopefully I'll have something fun to check out. I know I say this everytime, but hopefully I'll publish some more stuff soon!!

The Eye of a Painter

2006-02-11T12:42:00.000-06:00

I love looking at paintings. A good painting will stop me in my tracks and leave me without words. The world quickly fades and I am left with just the painting. Paintings leave me with so many questions. "How long did this take?" "Was the painting what the artist orginially intended?" "Where was the artist when they painted this?" "What emotions went into this painting?" "Joy?" "Sadness?" "Frustration?" "Satisfaction?" "Love?"

This picture on the right is one by Van Gogh. Some people actually think this was painted in a time of his life when he went crazy and that this is how he actually viewed the world. I think the painting is marvelous.

When I stop and look into a clear sky with a full moon, I get the same feeling like I am looking into a breathtaking painting. It's obvious that time and consideration was taken in creating the stars and the moon. What was the author thinking?

Then when it seems we will never smile again....life comes back

2006-02-05T14:36:00.000-06:00

Well naturally I again waited an entire month before publishing anything new. A lot has been going on and I figured I should share.
My girlfriend and I broke up about a week ago. It was a very hard decision to make, but I know it was the right thing to do. I have had some rough days dealing with all of that.
I am also not going to be working at the coffee shop that I so dearly loved, because I found a new job that is full-time and the hours just wouldn't work out. The coffee shop couldn't afford to pay me full-time and Rachel is doing her internship there. It was clear I needed to move on.
The job I am working will be in a warehouse picking parts. You know, I am not using my college degree at all for this job, but yet I know I will learn something from it.
I know that God has something else for me I just have to find out what that is. Honestly, I'm quite eager to see what He has up his sleeve.................

Freaks, Geeks, and Frozen Sheets

2005-12-28T12:02:00.000-06:00

I'm back from yet another long hiatus of no blogging. I figured I should probably write and say that Window Washing is no longer part of my life. It finally got too cold to be able to window wash. At one point we had to stop because as we put the window washing fluid on the windows it would quickly make a nice frozen sheet covering the window. We also figured it was too cold when we put the dish soap into the fluid and it turned to a little frozen icicle of soap. So needless to say, I am yet again looking for a job.

Some friends of mine manage a coffee shop on the U of M campus called Bordertown and I'm going to start working there about 15 hours a week, but I need something else that will be able to pay the bills. I'm pretty excited because it is a Christian coffee shop so that will be cool to do some ministry again.

I also wanted to share some good Christmas memories that have been formed this year.

1. My dad pulled out three boxes of some "vintage" clothes that he used to wear. I scored about 3 t-shirts, 2 collared shirts, and one full body jump suit (booya!). I passed up about 5 pairs of really really short shorts. My favorite shirt I got says "Here today gone to Maui". It probably has become my new favorite shirt.

2. My roommate and I have been watching through the t.v. show "Freaks and Geeks". I freakin' love that show. It is a dying shame that they only put out 18 episodes because that show was incredible. (hence the picture top right) ( someday I'll devote a whole blog entry to freaks and geeks)

3. Rachel gave me a really sweet argyle sweater. I love a good argyle.

4. My family and I were able to hang out quite a bit on Christmas eve and Christmas day it was a blast, and I'm looking forward to the legendary Hilden Christmas this Sunday.

5. This was the Christmas for getting DVD's as well. Spanglish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Seinfeld season 5.

6. Justin and Autumn had a Christmas party last night. It was great to able to see them for a short bit, and meet a bunch of their St. Olaf friends!

7. My grandmother's quiche. I ate about 4 huge pieces, but not as much as my cousin Nathan. There's always next year..............

PEACE people. I hope your Christmas was full of some good memories as well. Feel free to share some in the comment box!!

Wishing and Washing

2005-11-25T12:45:00.000-06:00

Hello All!
I'm back from a long hiatus of not blogging. I'm still living in my apartment and we have yet to get the internet. I think the main thing holding us back from getting the internet is that none of us own a computer. We all had them in college, but I think we got rid of them since then, BUT we do all have jobs now. I am currently a window washer!! I put a picture with this blog, and that is pretty much what we do every day, but since we are in Minnesota we have been battling the cold weather. Let's just say I won't be wearing shorts on Monday when I start work again. I wear some sweet looking green dickies pants with some pajama pants underneath them, because I don't own any long underwear yet. Looking at that picture everything is so true about it. Squeegee in one hand, towel on the shoulder, and the holster at my hip. The only difference about my holster is that mine is blue and I'm left handed.
I have to be honest with you bloggers about window washing. Window washing is not all glitz and glamour. In fact I'm counting the days that the season will be over. I think it will only last 2 more weeks. Everyday out there is a war with a really tall ladder. Some days I win, some days I lose........bad. We have 4 big ladders that we carry on the truck. A 16ft, 24ft, 28ft, and the biggest being 32ft. We have one more that we leave back in the garage most of the time and that is the big papa 40ft ladder. I'm getting more and more used to the 16ft, 24ft, and the 28ft but for some reason the 32ft ladder and I do not get along.
I've actually applied at Crown College in the admissions department. I would be a recruitment specialist. I'm hoping that job will work out, because I'm not exactly sure where to go next if that one doesn't pan out. The Crown job would be more of a permanent job for a while. Unlike the seasonal stuff that I have been doing.
I'll keep you all posted!!!

PEACE

Shaky Bunks and Last Second Shots

2005-10-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hello World!
I have some bad news to start this post off. The swimming instructor job just didn't pan out for me. It sounded like such a great job, but then I went to the training. For some reason I am not cut out to be a swimming instructor for 3 to 4 year olds. Don't get me wrong, I love little kids and playing with them, but teaching the basics of swimming to them freaks me out a little bit. So once again I'm on the search for a new job.
I just moved into a new apartment with a couple of dudes and it is pretty fun. My friend Kyle and I are sharing some really old bunk beds that he got from his parents. They are quite the adventure climbing into at night. Let's just say I'm glad I have the top end of those bunks, but on the same token I think Kyle is okay with the idea that at any moment that bunk could collapse and end is existence in apartment 223.
The big draw to the apartment is the NBA Jam arcade game that I bought at an auction a couple of years ago. Tempers sure arise when the computer starts cheating in the fourth quarter only to beat us yet again. So if any of you are in the Minnesota area and feel like getting in a couple of B-Ball games just let me know. Until next time...........

The Far Side of the Pool

2005-10-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

Currently Reading : For Whom the Bell Tolls By Ernest Hemingway
Currently Listening : Denison Witmer "Are You a Dreamer?"
Hello Blog heads! I decided I should maybe change the name of my blog from "Daily Dave" to "Possibly once a week or maybe even two weeks Dave". I'll try and make this blog worth while to make up some lost time.
First things first. I wanted to share my all-time favorite farside cartoon with all of you because I love it so much. I love how farside can have such clever wit when it comes to despair. I also love the dude's facial expression when he realizes potato chips make you incredibly thirsty and there isn't a fountain in sight!
It has been a busy week for me this week. I just accepted a position at FOSS swim school here in Minnesota. My official title is "swimming instructor". I have pretty mixed feelings about the whole thing. I do know that it is going to provide some good stories for the blog. I think it will be kind of fun, but there is a lot of stuff to learn and I'm definitely not looking at swimming instruction as a career. After the church plant in New York fell through it made me feel totally lost and I'm trying to regain some sort of vision of what God wants me to do here in Minnesota. For right now I'm just going to teach swimming and try to be a friend to people around here. Who knows what's next......
One thing that I do know is next.... I am planning on moving into a apartment in the next couple of weeks. It's funny because two of my roommates graduated from college and were part of church plants and now have moved back to Minnesota all within a year and half. Maybe funny was the wrong word for that last sentence, maybe a little sad. The good news is that even though both of them came from hard experiences in church planting they still want to affect the community around them and make a difference. So I'm pretty pumped to room with them because we all have big plans to get to know the people in our apartment building. I think one of the coolest ideas was to host an Oscar party and print off ballots so everyone can watch and guess along. I think we are all going to throw in a couple bucks or something and then the person that guesses the most winners gets all the dough. That should be a blast. We are also going to have an open house, so I will have to let all of you Minnesota folks know when the open house is. I'll also try and post some pictures of the place.
Well my girlfriend bought me a book of Sudoku which I am pumped about! So I think I'm off to go work on some of those and hit the sack early. I have got some serious training to go through for the swimming instructor job tomorrow. I do have to admit it is nice to say that I have a job now! Oh yes and I'll try and be a little more consistent with my posts.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

2005-09-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

OOOH man. I've decided I'm not going to see the Excorsism of Emily Rose. Last Wednesday I was watching this show called "Ghost Hunters" on the Sci-Fi channel. I guess people call up this team and say their house is haunted and then this team comes to their house and stays the night to watch for "supernatural activity" aka GHOSTS. So the whole time I'm watching this I'm trying to convince myself. "Dave this is just a show. You are not scared. They explain everything scientifically so later on you will not be afraid. Of course during the show I'm totally buying all of the crap I'm selling myself. I actually was not scared during the show, BUT later on is a different story....
Zoom to my bedroom if you dare......The time is 3:00am, I awake from a deep sleep and all of the sudden I'm no longer tired. The covers are pulled to my chin and I'm looking around my room and I swear I see something in my closest. All of the sudden I realize that I have totally messed myself up by watching "Ghost Hunters". My mind does not want to explain away everything scientifically. My mind is hearing doors slam and shadows move, and every so often I heard clicking sounds coming from my hallway or maybe my room...... Needless to say I didn't fall back alseep until 5:00am. That morning I talked to my dad and he said the wind blew the door shut and he let the dog out around 4:30 in the morning. Explaining all the crazy noises. I guess that shows what an over active imagination can do.

California Dreamin'

2005-09-16T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm currently writing from the Hilden's desk in beautiful LA. Today we saw a taping Wheel of Fortune. It was great to see Pat Sajak and the gang. Pat is actually a pretty funny guy. He totally adlibs a lot of lines. It was college week so all the contestants were college attenders. It was kind of obvious Pat didn't like this one contestant very much and he zung him a couple of times with his clever adlibs.
Yesterday we traveled to Disneyland which was fantastic! Since it is the middle of September and it was Thursday there was hardly any lines. The Indiana Jones ride was pretty amazing. It really felt like you were part of the adventure.
Oh yes! Thanks for the idea of deep fryin' bubble gum. It sounds like an interesting idea....I mean hey they put bubble gum in ice cream for crying out loud. So....Why wouldn't I just dip some gumballs in doughnut batter and fry them up next time I fire up the deep fryer. Stay tuned for that one.

Garage Salin' and Deep Fryin'

2005-09-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I ventured to a huge garage sale extravaganza. We walked up and down streets for hours on end. I only had one thing that I was looking for and that was a deep fryer. It was getting close to the end of the day and we only had a few sales left. As I casually walk to the next garage sale on the street and towards their garage.....I found it. The deep fryer from heaven. Now that I had found the deep fryer I needed to check the price tag. (price tags can be tricky at garages sales because people sometimes put high value on old possessions) This time the price tag read "$1.00 works good". It was a beautiful thing!! So last night we deep fried pretty much everything we had in the house. Mushrooms, onions, corn dogs, carrots, doughnuts, candy bars, French fries, and battered dipped French fries. Of course we only ate a little of each ones, but everything was pretty tasty and fattening! Nothing like paying $1.00 for a heart attack!

Droplets

2005-09-08T10:52:00.000-05:00

I'm finding that hunting down jobs is no cake walk. I've now applied to three different places. Coffee Creek, Magers and Quinn (a book store in uptown), and Half-Price Books. I've already had to decide no on Coffee Creek, but I'm still holding out for some sweet time at Half-Price Books. I'd be very excited to be part of the community at the book store.
Lately the word community has been on my mind. People long for community. I long for community. A place where people are honest, accepted, encouraged, and stretched to understand truth. Right now I'm wrestling with the idea of incorporating that into any new job I have. There is some adventure that lies in community. I guess it really boils down to love. Loving God and loving people. Having his love pour out. Let it pour.

Moonshine and Crosswords

2005-09-07T01:07:00.000-05:00

It's time for the new blog!! The title really means nothing, it was kind of the first thing that just popped in my head. Here's my mosquito control badge as well!